“What is Knowledge that I Should Acquire It”: Towards an I-Thou
Ikeoluwapo B. Baruwa
*
Department of Adult Education, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
Samuel I. Meroyi
Department of Early Childhood and Educational Foundations, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This paper dwells on the concept of Buber's 'Ich and Du', popularly known as 'I and Thou', as it concerns knowledge production and acquisition. From Buberian parlance, 'I and Thou' can be seen in twofold, 'I-It' and 'I-Thou'. While the former emphasizes separation, the latter accentuates relation. In its original position, this paper raises questions as, what knowledge is, what lie is, what constitutes truth, how knowledge becomes different from belief, who is/are to be educated, amongst others. The paper further clarifies terms as, 'to know' and 'to learn', and critically examines the philosophical anthropology of man, essence of man and relevance of knowledge acquisition. With the realization of human advancement, this paper submits that an individual to/with individual must strive to realize one another’s potentialities and intend each another as a particular person specifically reaching out in a bipolar situation not seeing one another as mere objects but rather same as oneself.
Keywords: I and Thou, I-It, I-Thou, knowledge, martin buber